Detroit Tigers Rookie Benefitted Greatly From Team Missing Out on Star Free Agent

Who benefitted the most for the Detroit Tigers missing out on Alex Bregman?

Detroit Tigers third base Jace Jung (17) watches a play against Chicago White Sox during the seventh inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With Spring Training underway for the Detroit Tigers, the team will attempt to replicate their success from the second half of 2024 for an entire season.

It was an incredible run in the second half of the year for the Tigers' last campaign. This winter, there was some concern about how aggressive the team would be in free agency to improve a team that exceeded all expectations last season.

Despite the slow start to the winter, Detroit ended up having a strong offseason with some nice moves. The franchise was able to sign Gleyber Torres, Alex Cobb, Tommy Kahnle, and Jack Flaherty, all of which aren’t long-term commitments.

The pitching staff was the unit that really saw a lot of upgrades this winter. Manager A.J. Hinch shouldn’t have to worry about trying to piece together a rotation after Tarik Skubal. Also, the bullpen which was a strength of the team last year got even better with the addition of Kahnle.

Detroit seemingly nearly pulled off the perfect offseason with the team being right in the mix for Alex Bregman before he signed with the Boston Red Sox.

However, there is one player who benefited greatly from the Tigers since they didn’t sign the former All-Star.

Brian Murphy of MLB.com recently spoke about rookie third baseman Jace Jung being the main beneficiary of the team not being able to sign Alex Bregman this winter.

“Jung is another beneficiary from the Bregman signing. The Tigers offered the two-time All-Star a six-year deal worth $171.5 million, according to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand, but they can now give Jung more at-bats at the hot corner.”

Even though Bregman was as close to a perfect fit as Detroit could have had with a free agent this winter, the price tag was extremely high. Fortunately, this is a Tigers team that has a lot of young players that they can pivot to.

Jung is the young player who will benefit from Detroit missing out on Bregman, as it should allow for more playing time for him.

Last year in 34 games for the Tigers, the young infielder slashed .241/.362/.304. The numbers weren’t great for the 24-year-old in the Majors, but the sample size was a small one.

However, in the minors, he performed very well in 2024. In 95 games, he slashed 258/.380/.461 with 15 home runs and 63 RBI.

Even though Jung might not become a superstar at the position for Detroit, he should be able to be a positive contributor. With Matt Vierling on the team as well still, those two might be platooning to an extent in 2025, barring one of them really taking off as a player.